Hamilton county commissioners got a briefing today on the proposed 4-million dollar indoor firing range for city and county officers.
They will give up the Moccasin Bend range in-favor of a site at the old Farmers Market on East 11th Street.
The current 33-acre firing range on Moccasin Bend has been used by city and county officers for years.
But it will soon become part of the national military park.
City and county leaders will instead move ahead with a 4-million dollar indoor range on East 11th street.
The city and the county will toss-in one and a half million dollars, plus a federal grant for a million dollars to pay for the construction.
ALLEN BRANUM, HMSO, CHIEF DEPUTY "We've been pleased with the existing range for a number of years..and we'd stay there as long as necessary..but we understand that's not going to be the case."
CHIEF BOBBY DODD "This is the trend..indoor ranges nationwide..that's what everyones going to because of EPA considerations and stuff like that."
The downtown site for the new indoor ranger is at Onion Bottom, near where the city is building a substation and the county plans a health clinic. An old warehouse will be torn-down for the range
CHIEF BOBBY DODD, CHATTANOOGA POLICE DEPT. "There's 10 actual P.D's that ride around here that everyone sees..we have railroad police, FBI, DEA, ATF..we have the NRC that comes in. We have so many people that use it."
But the National Military Park wants the Moccasin Bend land cleaned up first.
CATHY COOK, SUPT., NATIONAL MILITARY PARK "In transferring the land to the national military park service, one of our requirements is that there be the environmental cleanup."
MAYOR JIM COPPINGER, HAMILTON COUNTY "That's kind of news to me, I mean I would have thought they would welcome the opportunity for to give them the property..I didn't anticipate we would do the cleanup."
Supt. Cook said the value of the recovered bullets is likely enough to cover most of the decontamination costs.
Except for Chattanooga and Hamilton county officers, the other law enforcement organizations will pay to use the new range.
